Build your own CyanogenMod with the latest CMC beta for Ubuntu

Back in December we first had a look at CMC (CyanogenMod Compiler), and it's come a long way since. What started as a command line tool to help download, sync, and build CyanogenMod for any supported device has turned into a full-featured program, complete with a GUI and plenty of polish. With CMC you'll be able to sync with your preferred branch (Gingerbread or ICS) for any officially supported device, then build a flashable zip file with just a few button clicks.

A few warnings are needed here. Firstly, what you're left with when finished is a completely unsupported (by the CM team) nightly build -- don't file bug reports or expect much assistance if there are issues. Next, there's the fact that you're spending time (as in a lot of time) downloading a couple Gigabytes of code and then building it yourself versus just downloading a 100MB file. Finally, we can't forget that fiddling with custom firmware is a great way to ruin your expensive Android device, and only you are responsible for what you do.

If you understand, and are OK with those minor details, this is a great way to roll-your-own CM without much experience. It's a great introduction to software compilation, and the pride of building your own installation is something special. You'll need to be running Ubuntu (versions 10.04 through 12.04 are supported), and the .Deb files will setup and install any dependencies. Give it a look, and be sure to thank lithid-cm for this cool tool!